Attendance Zones, New RSD Superintendent, Legislative Session and More!

The Cowen Institute is pleased to share with you the latest in K-12 education policy at the local, state and federal levels. Don't forget to join our Facebook page and to follow us on Twitter.

2011 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature: Updated List of K-12 Education Bills

The bill prefiling period for the 2011 regular session of the Louisiana Legislature ended last Friday with over 800 bills having been posted online so far. It is possible that additional bills have been prefiled but are not yet posted online. Because this is a “fiscal-only” session, legislators were required to prefile all bills of a general subject nature and were limited to five such bills. Session will commence next Monday, April 25.

The Cowen Institute has compiled a list of all prefiled bills posted online to date related to K-12 public education, which you can view here. We will continue to follow and keep you updated on all of the important bills related to K-12 public education, including activity in the education committees, throughout the legislative session.

BESE Approves Attendance Zones for RSD Charter Schools

On Friday, April 8, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) voted to approve a policy that allows elementary and middle school charters in the state-run Recovery School District (RSD) to set aside up to 20 percent of their seats for students in an established neighborhood zone. The charter schools have the option to submit amendments to their charter agreements establishing neighborhood boundaries no later than April 22. BESE also gave the State Superintendent of Education, Paul Pastorek, temporary authority to approve charter amendments without a board vote. Charter schools that establish attendance zones and are less than three years old will forfeit eligibility for up to $600,000 in federal start-up dollars. Click here to read about the new policy in the Times-Picayune.

Tara O’Neill, Policy Manager at the Cowen Institute, testified on the issue at the BESE meeting. She highlighted some of the complexities yet to be clarified in the attendance zone policy, such as schools currently in temporary buildings. BESE members agreed that there are critical issues that need to be addressed in future policy and are working to establish more thorough guidelines.

NYC’s John White Named New RSD Superintendent

BESE also voted on Friday, April 8 to approve State Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek’s pick for a new superintendent of the Recovery School District (RSD). John White, who was previously New York City’s deputy chancellor, will replace Paul Vallas as RSD Superintendent on May 1.

Since 2006, White has overseen talent, labor, and innovation for the New York City Department of Education, where his responsibilities include human capital development and management of the Innovation Zone, a network of schools piloting the use of technology for learning and rethinking time and staffing. He previously served as chief executive officer for the NYC Department of Education’s portfolio division, leading New York City’s school turnaround efforts, and as deputy chief executive officer for the Department. Before moving to New York City, he served as Executive Director of Teach For America Chicago for three years. White holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Virginia and will receive a Master’s in Public Administration from New York University this spring.

To read the Times-Picayune’s coverage of White’s appointment, click here, here or here . Additionally, the Cowen Institute has compiled a timeline of the RSD in New Orleans, chronicling its history and development from inception to the present. Click here to view the timeline.

The Cowen Institute welcomes John White as the new RSD Superintendent and looks forward to working with him to continue the effort to create a world-class public education system in New Orleans.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Visits New Orleans

In his visit to New Orleans on Friday, April 8, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan delivered keynote remarks at the Education Writers Association National Seminar, and also hosted two events, a panel discussion at KIPP Believe College Prep highlighting the work of New Schools for New Orleans and the Recovery School District, recipients of the federal Investing in Innovation (i3) grants, and a town hall at Loyola University to promote the TEACH Campaign . Throughout the day, Secretary Duncan commended New Orleans for its vast improvement in public school student achievement since Hurricane Katrina. To read more about Duncan’s visit, click here for an article the Times-Picayune and here for blog post on the U.S. Department of Education’s website.

Senator Mary Landrieu Introduces Two K-12 Education-Related Bills

Last week, on Tuesday, April 12, Senator Mary Landrieu joined Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Scott Brown (R-MA) to introduce the Securing Teacher Effectiveness, Leaders, Learning, and Results (STELLAR) Student Act (S. 763). This legislation amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (also referred to as No Child Left Behind) to require states to implement teacher and principal evaluation systems based on measures of effectiveness.

Previously, on Wednesday, March 30, Senator Landrieu introduced along with six other senators the Charter School Quality Act of 2011 (S. 686), which aims to improve charter school quality through prioritizing states with more rigorous charter school authorizing standards and practices in the federal Public Charter Schools Grant Program. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) endorsed the legislation.

Federal Budget Deal Includes Cuts to Education Spending

The U.S. Senate and House approved last Thursday, April 14, a spending bill to fund the federal government through September that includes more than $38 billion in cuts. The approved legislation is a compromise that came after weeks of stop-gap spending measures and high-level negotiations. The Department of Education faces relatively modest cuts, losing just over $1 billion or two percent of its overall budget. The Administration’s priority programs were largely protected with $700 million in funding for a new round of Race to the Top, which will include a new initiative for early childhood education, and $150 million for the Investing in Innovation (i3) grant program. The Teacher Incentive Fund was also level-funded at $400 million, and Head Start received a $340 million increase.

However, some federal K-12 education programs will lose federal funding altogether, including the Striving Readers program and the Education Technology State Grants program. School Improvement Grants, of which Louisiana was a recent recipient, will see $10 million in cuts. Education Week has more details here.